Park Ji-won is a writer for The Korea Times who has been covering a wide range of topics from Korea’s culture to its politics. An avid journalism enthusiast to the core, Ji-won brings a thoughtful and unique perspective to every topic she covers. On weekends, you'll often find her contemplating life’s purpose on a yoga mat — with a cup of quality tea in hand. A native Korean speaker by birth and fluent in English through her work, she went to college in Japan and is learning Chinese and French — hoping to add Polish, Russian and Thai to the mix.
New US top envoy to arrive in Seoul Thursday, faces Coupang, N. Korea tests
New U.S. Ambassador to Korea Michelle Steel speaks during an event marking the opening of the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center in Washington, D.C., July 23. Yonhap
By Park Ji-won
Michelle Steel, the newly appointed U.S. ambassador to South Korea, is set to arrive in the country Thursday, with attention turning to how she will navigate a stack of bilateral issues between Seoul and Washington amid mounting global uncertainties.
Steel will land Thursday, according to sources, and begin preparations to formally assume the post, which has been vacant for a year and a half since her predecessor, Philip Goldberg, departed around the time U.S. President Donald Trump took office in January last year.
The new top envoy faces a full agenda of pending bilateral issues but is expected to prioritize strengthening the alliance.
Michelle Steel, then-R-Calif., arrives for the State Dinner with U.S. President Joe Biden and Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol at the White House in Washington in this April 26, 2023 file photo. AP-Yonhap
A hawkish Korean American Republican, she stressed her commitment to "strengthening our alliance with the Republic of Korea" during her Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing on May 20 — remarks that are likely to extend to overseeing South Korea's $350 billion investment pledge in the U.S.
Among the most closely watched issues is the handling of Coupang, the e-commerce giant often compared to Amazon. U.S. House Republicans have stepped up criticism of Seoul over its alleged unfair treatment of the company while South Korean officials maintain they are acting on principle.
Although headquartered in Seattle, Coupang generates most of its revenue in Korea and was recently fined over a massive data breach here, a move that triggered accusations of discriminatory treatment against a U.S. firm. Seoul has said that the “government is conducting investigations and taking necessary measures in a fair and lawful manner, without discrimination based on nationality, under the fundamental principle that all companies must faithfully comply with domestic laws.”
Steel is widely expected to take a hawkish stance on the issue, having told the Senate committee that "American companies operating in Korea deserve the same market access that Korean companies enjoy in the United States."
Since her nomination, she has reportedly been meeting with U.S. government officials and business executives — including Harold Rogers, interim CEO of Coupang Korea, and Karan Bhatia, Google's global head of government affairs and public policy — in preparation for her new posting over the last few weeks.
The flags of Korea, the United States and Coupang hang at New York Stock Exchange, March 11, 2021, when Coupang Inc., the U.S.-headquartered holding firm of Coupang, began its trading. Yonhap
When it comes to North Korea, she has voiced critical views of Pyongyang's conduct.
“Our governments cooperate closely to respond to the DPRK’s unlawful weapons programs, its expanding cybercrime operations, and its deepening military cooperation with Russia,” Steel said during the May hearing, referring to North Korea's official name, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. “We are strengthening a vital trilateral partnership alongside Japan to defend a Free and Open Indo‑Pacific.”
While representing California in 2021, Steel joined fellow lawmakers in opposing a proposed formal declaration ending the 1950-53 Korean War, a move the then-Moon Jae-in and Trump administrations had explored at the time to sustain dialogue with Pyongyang.
Her nomination drew opposition from some progressive South Korean civic groups, who protested in the streets over her past characterization of dialogue with Pyongyang as "capitulating," a position that runs counter to the Lee Jae Myung administration's push for inter-Korean engagement.
Critics also pointed to her consistent support for military expansion — including her votes for the 2023 National Defense Authorization Act and support for the Pacific Deterrence Initiative — arguing these positions could heighten security instability in East Asia.
2nd Korean American ambassador
Steel will become the second Korean American to serve as U.S. ambassador to South Korea, following Sung Kim, who held the post from 2011 to 2014.
Born in Seoul in 1955, she spent part of her youth in Japan before moving to the U.S. in the mid-1970s. She served two terms in the U.S. House of Representatives representing California from 2020 to 2024. She grew up with a family history of parents who had fled Pyongyang and been displaced by the Korean War, an experience she has spoken about publicly.
On the procedural front, Steel will need to submit a copy of her credentials to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs before beginning most official duties — a step expected next week, once Foreign Minister Cho Hyun returns from accompanying the president's state visit to the U.S. and South America. Until then, her activities will be largely limited to internal embassy affairs and private meetings with figures such as business executives.
Once submitted, she can begin most duties as ambassador-designate, including meetings with Korean officials, though customary meetings with the heads of Korea's three branches of government and official interviews as U.S. ambassador will remain off-limits until she presents her original credentials to the president.